Erosion at Folly Beach will be an expensive problem to fix

2011-08-01T21:32:01Z2011-08-01T21:50:53Z

FOLLY BEACH, SC (WCSC) -

Erosion at Folly Beach has left many beach goers on the rocks. Much of the north and south ends of the beach are eroded away. One public beach access at the end of East Ashley Avenue has been closed due to too much exposed rock.

"It gets this way every year, but this year does seem to be worse than most," said Mayor Tim Goodwin.

Every eight years, the Army Corps of Engineers and the city of Folly Beach do a beach re nourishment program. The last one was five years ago with the next planned for 2013.

The price tag for the re nourishment program is $18 million dollars. Much of that will be covered by federal funds.The city will match 20 percent of that which is $3.6 million dollars.

"We've already started saving for it because it is something that just has to happen," said Mayor Goodwin.

The re nourishment is done by taking a large vessel three miles offshore, pumping out sand from the ocean floor, transporting it through a pipe and onto the beach where bulldozers shape the sand. The process takes about six months.

"With hurricane season, we are concerned about storms producing high winds and big waves that will add to the erosion," said Brian Williams, a project manager for the Army Corps of Engineers.